The cancellation of the Toulouse match is not a scandal for Urios
Mathieu WARNIER, Media365, published on Sunday January 23, 2022 at 12:30 p.m.
Faced with the controversy that the cancellation of the match between Toulouse and the Northampton Saints caused, Christophe Urios said he did not have the same opinion.
This is the controversy that marks this Champions Cup weekend. Affected by the coronavirus, Toulouse saw its match against Northampton Saints purely and simply canceled by the EPCR, with an improved victory (28-0) granted to the English club. A decision which provoked the wrath of the leaders but also of the players of the reigning European champion. President of the National Rugby League (LNR) and former patron of Stade Toulousain, René Bouscatel also criticized the decision taken by the EPCR. However, Christophe Urios gave a very different opinion when he was questioned by CMR. Not hiding that “it’s a sensitive subject” for him, the Bordeaux-Bègles coach confirmed that “if you are able to present fifteen professional players, including six on the front line, you have to play the match”. However, Christophe Urios added that “there is no rule” in the matter at European level.
Urios: “For me, there is no scandal”
The coach of the Top 14 leader, who also saw his match against Leicester Tigers canceled with a 28-0 defeat for UBB, gave his point of view on the situation. “It is at the discretion of a commission which relies in particular on experts from the LNR, recalled Christophe Urios. So even if Toulouse were able to field a good team, they were agreed by the number of players affected during the week, that the risk of a cluster was high. So they called off the game. “If many observers were moved by the decision of the EPCR, this is obviously not the case for the former coach of Castres. “For me, there is no scandal. I don’t think it is, he named. The rule of the European Cup is not to postpone a match. “A story that might not be so surprising, since the UBB is guaranteed to play in the round of 16, unlike Stade Toulousain.